A look at what fall will bring to broadcast TV

Networks unveil seasons

Associated Press

The major broadcast television networks this week unveiled their lineups for the 2019-20 season, which begins in the fall.

Drama, sitcoms, talent and reality shows, sports and animation are sprinkled throughout, with “This Is Us” and “Empire” returning, “Black-ish” getting a spinoff, and another new comedy from the creator of “Big Bang Theory,” which wrapped its 12-year run this week. Here’s what’s in store:

NBC

NBC didn’t invoke its “must-see TV” 20th-century marketing slogan in announcing a renewed emphasis on sitcoms next season, but it could have.

Calling comedy the “heart” of its brand, the network announced it is adding four new sitcoms to its lineup for 2019-20, with stars including Kenan Thompson of “Saturday Night Live” and sitcom veterans Fran Drescher (“The Nanny”) and Steven Weber (“Mom,” “Wings”).

On Thursday night, where NBC sitcoms including “Cheers” and “Friends” ruled back in the 1980s and ’90s, the network will introduce newcomers “Perfect Harmony” and “Sunnyside” to join returning comedies “Superstore” and “The Good Place” this fall.

“Thursdays will continue to be the home of the smartest, buzziest and most enduring comedies on television,” George Cheeks, who is co-chair with Paul Telegdy of NBC Entertainment, said with bravado.

The return of popular drama “This Is Us” wasn’t in doubt, but NBC cemented its value to the network by renewing it for what it called an “unprecedented” three more years.

Whether it will continue beyond season six is “open for right now,” said Telegdy.

“This Is Us” will return in the fall, but fans of some NBC shows, including “Manifest,” ‘’Will & Grace” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” will have to wait until early 2020.

Four new dramas are slated for the coming season, with one set for fall. “Bluff City Law” stars NBC alum Jimmy Smits (“The West Wing,” “L.A. Law”) as head of a celebrated Memphis, Tenn., law firm who is joined by his estranged daughter.

The midseason newcomers include “Council of Dads,” about a family man who makes sure his brood will always have the fatherly help they need; “Lincoln,” inspired by the novel “The Bone Collector,” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” about a brilliant computer coder who’s able to eavesdrop on the hopes of those around her through her songs.

For “Little Big Shots,” Steve Harvey is out and Melissa McCarthy is in as host of what NBC is describing as a revamp of the talent showcase for kids.

While “I Feel Bad” is living up to its title and won’t be back on NBC, there’s still hope for the series “Abby’s,” “A.P. Bio,” “The Village” and “The Enemy Within.”

They’re yet to be renewed, and NBC is taking a wait-and-see attitude as they finish out this season.

FOX

“Empire” will return for its final season this fall on Fox – with Jussie Smollett a question mark – and should count itself lucky.

Fox, the lowest-rated network among the big four broadcasters, is hitting the reset button for the 2019-20 season by canceling eight shows and adding 10 new ones.

“Empire” companion drama “Star” is among the goners as the network makes room for an eclectic mix of wrestling, three new animated comedies and a “9-1-1” spinoff starring Rob Lowe.

“We are turning the final season of ‘Empire’ into a large television event,” Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier said.

Fox has long been known for its animated comedies, most notably “The Simpsons,” and is betting viewers want more. To sweeten the deal, three shows will include actors known for their on-screen work.

“Bless the Harts,” about a Southern family that’s poor but rich in friends and relations, will debut this fall with Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Mary Steenburgen in its voice cast.

Later-season entries include “The Great North,” from “Bob’s Burgers” creator Loren Bouchard and featuring the voices of Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Jenny Slate and Will Forte in the tale of a single Alaska dad and his kids. “Duncanville,” about an imaginative teenage boy and his father, includes Amy Poehler, Ty Burrell and Rashida Jones in its voice cast.

There will be a new multi-camera comedy in midseason, “Outmatched,” starring Jason Biggs and Maggie Lawson as a blue-collar couple raising four kids, three of them genius-level, and “Last Man Standing” with Tim Allen will be back then as well.

Television veteran Rob Lowe will star in a new iteration of “9-1-1,” the drama whose producers include the prolific Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (”American Horror Story” and more). In the midseason “9-1-1: Lone Star,” Lowe plays a New York City police officer who re-locates to Austin, Texas, with his son.

Fellow TV stalwart Kim Cattrall (SDLqSex and the City”) stars in “Filthy Rich,” described as a gothic Southern family drama that mixes wealth, power and religion with “outrageously soapy results,” while John Slattery (SDLqMad Men”) headlines “neXt” as a Silicon Valley pioneer trying to stop his dangerous A.I. creation. Both are midseason entries, along with “Deputy,” starring Stephen Dorff as a fifth-generation lawman.

Two new dramas will debut this fall. “Not Just Me,” from producer Jason Katims (SDLqFriday Night Lights,” “Parenthood”) stars Timothy Hutton as a fertility doctor run amok, with Brittany Snow playing a daughter who deals with the aftermath. “Prodigal Son” stars Tom Payne (SDLqThe Walking Dead”) as a crimebuster with a dark family history, courtesy of his dad (Michael Sheen, “Masters of Sex”).

Series canceled by Fox other than “Star” are Kelsey Grammer’s “Proven Innocent;” comedy “The Cool Kids,” which starred veterans including David Alan Grier and Vicki Lawrence; “The Gifted,” set in Marvel’s “X-Men” universe; reality series “Love Connection” with host Andy Cohen; sci-fi drama “The Passage,” and sitcom “Rel” with Lil Rel Howery.

ABC

With the TV industry in flux, ABC entertainment chief Karey Burke said a goal for the network’s 2019-20 schedule is something audiences might see as a gift – stability.

There will be newcomers, notably Tiffany Haddish, and inevitable cancellations. But ABC said next season represents the lightest hand in more than a decade.

Although ABC had a “tough” start last fall, she said, a ratings rebound justifies the approach.

That means nurturing the shows in place, such as long-time ABC successes “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Bachelor” and not “putting on something new for the sake of something new,” she said. A marketplace increasingly packed with streaming content is another reason to hold steady, Burke said.

But low-rated series are out, and their replacements include Haddish as host and producer of a reboot of “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”

There are three other newbies debuting in fall, including “mixed-ish,” a “black-ish” spinoff that stars Arica Himmel as the preteen version of the mom, Rainbow, played by Tracee Ellis Ross in the original show.

Allison Tolman stars in “Emergence,” described as a character-driven genre thriller, while the graphic novel-based “Stumptown” stars Cobie Smulders as an Army veteran turned private eye.

The midseason entries include the dramas “For Life,” about a prisoner seeking freedom for himself and others, with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson among the producers, and “The Baker and the Beauty,” about the unlikely romance between a working man and a superstar.

The family comedy “United We Fall” also is on deck for midseason.

These seven shows got the axe: “Whiskey Cavalier,” “For the People,” “Dancing with the Stars: Juniors,” “Child Support,” “The Alec Baldwin Show,” “The Kids Are Alright” and “Splitting Up Together.”

Add one more: “Speechless,” a groundbreaking comedy about a teenager with cerebral palsy, played by Micah Fowler, and his family.

CBS

“The Big Bang Theory” finale aired Thursday, and CBS is already back in business with its creator.

The network said Wednesday that its fall lineup will include a new sitcom from Chuck Lorre that stars Billy Gardell, who co-starred in “Mike & Molly.”

Other stars joining CBS’ 2019-20 schedule include Edie Falco in the police drama “Tommy,” former “NCIS” star Pauley Perrette in the sitcom “Broke” and Patricia Heaton in the comedy “Carol’s Second Act.”

In the Lorre comedy, titled “Bob Hearts Abishola,” Gardell plays a Detroit sock salesman who falls in love with his cardiac nurse, a Nigerian immigrant.

“The Big Bang Theory” ended Thursday on CBS after 12 seasons.

THE CW

Female power rules in the CW’s new fall TV series, with heroes including teenage detective Nancy Drew and Batwoman.

In “Nancy Drew,” Kennedy McMann plays the sleuth whose life has been derailed by her mother’s death.

“Batwoman” stars Ruby Rose as Kate Kane, who may be crime-ridden Gotham City’s best hope with Batman gone from the scene.

A CW newcomer for midseason is “Katy Keene,” a spinoff from the CW’s “Riverdale” series drawn from the Archie comic book universe. It stars Ashleigh Murray as an aspiring fashion designer whose friends share their own big dreams.

The CW schedule for 2019-20 includes the final seasons of “Arrow” and “Supernatural.”